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Architects: Fulton Trotter Architects
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Photographs:John Mills
Text description provided by the architects. Parkview is not so much a building, but a community flowing with the joy of life. Its purpose is to be filled with residents living well and with integrity, respect, empowerment, hope, justice, compassion, and innovation. The building is the framework, but the people inside are the spirit – encouraging individualised care through catering to the specific needs of each resident. Parkview and its people fully embrace the principles of the Eden Alternative™ – “a principle-based philosophy that empowers Care Partners to transform institutional approaches to care into the creation of a community where life is worth living” – and which seeks to eliminate loneliness, helplessness and boredom in residential aged care.
Parkview is the central facility within a high density seniors residential precinct developed by Wesley Mission Brisbane on the site of Wheller Gardens, Chermside, Brisbane.
This building includes residential accommodation for 144 high care residents, a new community therapy centre, and supporting facilities. The accommodation is in predominantly single bed apartment format with a small number of 2 bed rooms.
The building is broken into five sections, two residential complexes, a central community building, a kitchen and café/ restaurant. Each residential section has two floors of 36 apartments arranged to maximize access to natural light, breezes, and views.
A central community space, chapel, café, hairdresser, and admin facilities are all accessible to the public, the architects’ aim to defuse the barrier between this residential group and the surrounding community.
The architects explain that high site value in this growing part of Brisbane necessitated a multi-level and intensive approach. However, the buildings’ mass has been broken down into firstly the five buildings and then further into pods of 4 units to reduce the developments’ potential for an intimidating character.
The residential components use finely detailed concrete block work blades, panelised coloured spandrels, and individual stepped roofs to result in an aesthetic equating to apartment / resort living. A vertical emphasis has been applied to a largely horizontal building plate to reduce its impact. The central building is more dominant with outdoor entertaining verandas detailed in timber screening projecting from a coloured block work core.
The café, when built, will be an entirely different aesthetic of Spanish tiles, timber louvers and pavilion forms to clearly identify this destination facet of the development. Interiors use a largely white simplicity, combined with varying colour timber ceilings, and trims.
